Laura’s small body shuddered and she pressed her clasped hands together under her chin.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Uncle Gage is a professional monster-vanquisher.”
“Van’kisher?”
A bang sounded against the closet wall and along with Laura, Harley jumped. She forced herself to relax and sound calm. “Yes, he’ll make sure the monster doesn’t bother you ever again.”
And it hit her. He was doing for Laura now what he wanted to do for Harley and the twins, protect them from the monster Mike had become. She didn’t have to like it, didn’t even have to agree to it if she didn’t want to, but she understood that that’s who he was.
A protector by nature.
While much rustling and banging went on in the closet, Harley held Laura safe in her arms. On the other side of the bed, Lisa slept through the noise.
Finally, all fell silent. Seconds ticked by. Laura pressed a little closer to Harley.
“Do you think the mon’ter ate Unca Gage?” Laura asked with another shudder.
And despite the softness in her heart for the wonderful way he made sure Laura knew she was safe, Harley muttered, “No, but if he doesn’t come out of there now, I won’t be eating him either.”
As though he’d heard her, the closet door popped open, and Gage stepped out with a stuffed bear in one hand and a small blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. At the sight of him, Laura gasped and shifted to her knees, the love she felt for this man evident in the rapt shine of her eyes.
“Did you kill him, Unca Gage? Is he dead?”
“Dead and buried.” He returned to the bed, where he handed her the bear and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’ll be able to sleep now, won’t you, sugarplum?”
She threw her small body against him, wrapped her chubby arms around his neck, and gave him a sloppy wet kiss. “T’ank you, Unca Gage.”
He hugged her back. “Anytime, princess.”
Laura pushed to put space between them, put her small hands on his cheeks, and stared into his eyes. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”
Over Laura’s shoulder, Gage met Harley’s eyes. “What if Lisa wakes up afraid and needs you?”
Laura wiggled out of his arms, gave Harley a push that forced her to move off the bed and onto her feet, and laid down. “Lisa never wakes up afraid, but that’s okay because I like to sleep with her, too.”
He smoothed one hand over her hair, and Harley felt her heart melt at the sight of the big man being so gentle with the tiny girl.
“Unca Gage,” Laura whispered, her voice already slurred with sleepiness.
“What, sugarplum?”
“P’ease don’t let Aunt Harley take us away from you.”
He raised his gaze to Harley and she stared back at him, wishing she could tell him the truth. Every day she stayed here, she lost another piece of her heart.
She bent down, kissed Laura on the forehead, and noted the young girl’s eyes were already closing. As she straightened and turned, she saw Gage head out of the room.
Desire liquefied her body and she followed him out, fully expecting to continue where they’d left off. Except, as he headed through the kitchen toward the back porch, confusion wormed its way into her brain. “Where are you going?”
He paused and faced her. “The interruption was probably for the best.” His gaze skittered past her, returned. “Do you want to know the truth?”
She could barely force herself to speak, not with all her brain cells focused on the memory of his large warm hands against her bare skin, his fingers dipping into her panties. “Yes.”
“Relationships scare the hell out of me, honey.” He ducked his head, drew a deep breath, and fixed his gaze on her. “I know that if I ever let myself get too close to one woman, if I ever dare believe in the one-woman-for-every-man syndrome, I’ll never let her go. And do you know what that means?”
Paying full attention now, she shook her head.
“It means that when she wants her freedom, I’d make her regret ever becoming involved with me. It means I’d find her no matter where she tried to hide. It means pain and jealousy and a lifetime of abuse.” He took a deep shuddering breath. “Eternal hell for the both of us.”
Horror whipped through her and she gaped at him with a new perspective.
Is that why he’d pushed her away—pushed everyone away?
She studied his locked jaw, the quiet agony in his ocean-blue eyes.
Gage was the least dangerous man she knew.
Except when it came to her heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Breath snagging in his throat, truth out in the open between them, Gage waited for her rejection.
When she didn’t move, just stood there looking down at him from the kitchen with those incredible mocha eyes, he turned his back on her, reached for the doorknob…and called himself all kinds of a fool for walking away when he wanted her so bad.
And then he heard the light slap of her feet against the steps. She slipped between him and the door, caught him by the back of the neck, and urged his head down, silencing his objections by settling her mouth against his.
A burst of desire jolted through him.
Good intentions scattered.
Thoughts disintegrated.
As heat exploded in his belly and headed south, he swept his arms around her fragile body and cradled her close.
What would she say if she knew how long he’d struggled against the desire to slide his hands up the softness of her inner thigh to the dark curls that promised paradise?
He broke off the kiss and nearly drowned in the limpid shadows of her gaze, the vulnerable slant of her kissable mouth, the incredible softness of her skin against his hands.
His attention dropped from the molten heat of desire reflected in her eyes, to the rapid beat of her pulse at her neck, to the rise and fall of her breasts beneath her sundress. A shudder moved up his torso, worked tension into his shoulders as he tried to put some space between them so he could think.
She made a frustrated sound deep in her throat, placed her hands on his cheeks, and angled his head until he gazed into her eyes. “You can’t keep starting and stopping. I’m not a car. I’m a flesh and blood woman, and all I want from you is sex. Nothing more.”
Tension tightened his jaw and his gut. “What if it’s not enough?”
A shadow filtered through her gaze. “Then we’ll deal with it together. You’re not a monster, Gage. All that matters right now is the fact that you want me and I want you.” The feather light touch of her hands against his naked chest seared his flesh, and with a frown, she broke contact and stepped back. “Are you planning to run again? Because if you are, I want you to know that you’ve got me strung so tight, I’m on the edge of yanking some stud off the street so I can have my way with him.”
If he wanted to ensure her safety, he should let her do just that. But no way was he letting another man touch her. He bit back the jealousy. “Honey, the only stud you’re going to yank off is me.”
Gage reached down and caught her by the back of the knees, swept her into his arms, and took the steps to the kitchen in one leap. With her arms looped around his neck, he headed for the bedroom where he set her on her feet.
She kept her gaze steady on his as though willing him to stay put. With a move that left him brainless, she reached down with both hands, grabbed the edges of the sundress, and tugged it up and over her head.
Dropping the sundress to the floor, she stood before him, naked except for the white panties covering her lady parts. “So what’ll it be, stud? Me or the highway?”
He reached for her, captured her in his arms, and lowered his head to suckle at her breast. Her fingers wound through his hair and pulled him closer. Gage laved the silken nub and it puckered against his tongue. He cupped the underside of her breast and slid his hand down to her belly.
She shifted restlessly, and her sexy response tightened his body, electrified him. Gage moved his
mouth upward until his lips connected with hers again, and he caught her gasp in his mouth.
Mouths fused, tongues tangling in the age old rhythm of making love, they kissed. Her hands moved from his hair, across his shoulders, down his back, and around to the waistband of his sweats. Gage pressed his lower body against hers, feeling the welcoming warmth of her body to the center of his being.
Against his mouth, she said, “I’m tired of waiting. I want you naked, now.”
She broke off the kiss, stepped out of his arms, and with her fingertips, slowly slid the panties off her hips and down her long legs.
Gage reached for the waistband of his sweats and tugged them down, cross eyed with lust, trying to look everywhere at once. The heat in her eyes, the glow on her face, the jiggle of her breasts every time she inhaled and exhaled, the sweet promise of the mound at the junction of her thighs.
In a heartbeat, he kicked his sweats aside and reached for her.
Without hesitation, she came into his arms, all delectable curves and soft woman. As her breasts came in contact with his chest, she gasped and a shiver coursed through her body.
One more time, he had to ask. “Are you sure?”
She responded by grabbing hold of his ears and tugging his head down. “Shut up and kiss me, okay?”
Smothering a laugh, Gage obeyed, hungrier than he’d ever been for another woman, desperate to slide into her and feel the heat of her body encase him.
All of him.
But first, he wanted to explore.
He broke off the kiss and with his lips, traced a path to her jaw, down her neck, and across the top of her shoulder. She arched her neck to one side, her small hands making a foray down his chest, across his belly, and lower.
He trembled at her touch, felt his erection swell to near bursting. If she dared touch him now, he’d explode.
Dropping to one knee, he palmed her rump, and proceeded to kiss the underside of her breast, her narrow ribcage, her hipbone. Against his hands, he felt her body shudder, her hips rotate.
He moved one hand around to the front so he could smooth back the dark silken hair, and caught his first glimpse of the glistening folds of her sex. “Open your legs for me, honey.”
His coaxing wasn’t necessary.
She was wet and ready for him, and as he breathed in the sweet scent of her, she parted her legs to give him better access.
Joy swept through him, along with a tenderness that wasn’t entirely foreign to him. He’d spent years craving her touch and dreaming of this very moment.
Gage dipped his fingers into the sweet fire at the center of her womanhood, pressed his tongue against the tiny bud within the glistening folds, and licked.
She gasped and arched into him, and he licked again, savoring the taste of her on his tongue, the feel of her in his arms.
His breath rasped in his throat, escaped, and he blew a breath of air against her sex. As her small hands caressed his back and she called out his name, he sucked the tiny nub into his mouth, and reined in his desire.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
With each lick of his tongue against her clit, Harley felt the tension in her womb contract and expand.
She clutched at his head, drawing him closer, grinding her pelvis against the soft touch of his mouth until she thought she’d go out of her mind.
But she wanted him deep inside of her, filling her body, touching her womb.
She grabbed him by the ears and tugged, and he surged to his feet to tower over her.
“Bed,” she panted. “You inside of me. Now.”
They tumbled backward onto the bed, a tangle of arms and legs, kissing and touching and fondling. The weight of his body between her legs made her feel tiny and powerful at the same time.
And while she tried to hurry things along for fear he’d change his mind again, somehow he shifted his large body and trapped her beneath him with one of his legs.
His hand wandered from her breast, down to her navel, then further still. And as his fingers tangled in the hair between her legs, she felt his erection pulse against her thigh.
Two could play at this game, she decided as she nipped at his shoulder, felt the burning heat of his skin against her own, and prayed that this time he wouldn’t hesitate, wouldn’t stop.
Because there was no way she was going to allow him to leave her alone to take care of things by herself.
His fingertips rasped across the delicate nub between her thighs, startling a gasp from between her lips. She clung to his shoulders for a moment, biting her lip to hold back her release. She wanted to go over the edge with him buried deep inside of her, with the throbbing pulse of his desire setting off her own.
Harley ran one hand down his chest, stopped to flick a nipple, then moved lower to his belly. As she touched the silky smooth length of him, his big body shuddered against hers, and she knew she’d treasure this night till the end of her days.
Wrapping her fingers around him, she caressed the velvet-like length, marveled at the burning heat of his erection. His mouth claimed her nipple and as he blew a stream of cool air across the sensitive point, she bit back a moan.
With a firm touch, she pushed him onto his back and straddled him. His hands cupped her breasts. His hips rotated upward, rubbing his erection against the sensitive spot between her legs.
In his eyes, she saw heat, desire, admiration. Maybe he hadn’t been lying to her when he said he’d wanted her all these years past.
Hands resting on the bed beside his head, she lowered her head, capturing his mouth with hers, feeling the heat of his lips, the grind of his hips, the sensation of her senses spinning quickly out of control.
She broke off the kiss, trailing her lips across his shoulder, down his chest, stopping to flick her tongue across first one nipple, then the other. The light dusting of hair on his chest tickled her chin and lips, and his groan made her body dance with desire.
Progressing down the sharp angles of his rib cage, she heard the deep shuddering release of his breath as his hands sank into her hair. She continued to work a path down his abdomen, felt him shift on the bed with a restless movement, and when she reached her target, his manhood stood erect.
Harley caught him in her hand and stroked the silken length.
As she licked at the sensitive ridge and heard Gage groan, she felt the heat of her own desire pool between her legs.
Without warning, he grabbed her under the arms, tugged her up his body, and flipped her on her back. Capturing her wrists between his hands, he imprisoned her on the bed beneath his body.
“If you keep that up, it’ll be over before we get to the really good part,” he growled against her mouth as he shifted his body between her legs.
She opened her legs willingly, felt his erection nudge at the opening of her body and part the sensitive flesh around the center of her womanhood.
Harley arched her hips, welcoming him home, her gaze steady on his face, wanting to witness the moment when he slid inside and became hers…if only for a moment in time. As he released her wrists and positioned himself, she whispered, “Love me, Gage.”
The hallway light glowed in the background, illuminating the tension on his face, the burning desire in his gaze. He entered her a bit at a time, her body stretching to accommodate him, and with each stroke of his penis, desire gathered in her belly.
And in that second, she understood the truth of her words.
She loved him and in return, wanted him to love her back.
And then her thoughts were consumed by physical sensations too pleasurable to ignore.
As he rocked inside of her, as she matched her rhythm to his, as the tension in her body increased and she gasped his name, she saw his nostrils flare, his pupils dilate.
They crested the peak together, hearts thundering, breath mingling, bodies united. And Harley knew without a doubt…she wasn’t giving up the man she loved without a fight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The next evening,
while Harley prepared supper, the back door banged open and Laura raced into the kitchen.
“Unca Gage wants to know if it’s almost time to start the bar-be-cue for supper.”
Harley glanced down at her niece and felt her heart swell with love. “Almost, sweetie. Are you hungry?”
Sun-kissed curls bobbed as the little girl nodded her head.
With the flat of her hand, she ruffled Laura’s hair, then glanced out the window in time to see Lisa do a man-size belly flop on Gage’s chest. “Ouch.”
Laura, eyes level with the counter top, stood on her tip-toes to peer over the edge. “Did you get an owie?”
“No, sweetie.” Reaching down, she caught Laura under the arms, lifted her up to sit on the edge of the counter, and pointed outside. “I think Uncle Gage did.”
Laura twisted around to peer out the window and giggled. “Unca Gage is silly.”
“Silly as a circus clown.” Harley tore open a package of whipped topping and dumped it into a bowl. “Want to help me make strawberry shortcake for dessert?”
The curls bobbed again.
“First, we have to wash those dirty hands.” Harley lifted her niece up by the waist and held her over the sink. Laura sang a merry tune as she scrubbed her chubby hands.
When they returned to the task at hand, Harley asked, “Can you pour some milk into the measuring cup, please?” She held up the cup, indicating with her finger where to stop. “Right up to here.”
“’Kay.” Tongue lolling out of her mouth to assist her concentration, Laura tipped the jug of milk, and carefully poured it into the cup without spilling a drop.
“Good girl.” Harley was rewarded with a beaming smile as Laura handed back the jug. “Now we’ll beat it so it’s fluffy.”
Setting the beaters into the bowl, she turned on the controls, increasing the speed as the liquid thickened. Milk splattered and Laura giggled as she dodged the tiny droplets. When the cream stood up in fluffy white peaks, Harley turned off the mixer, popped out a beater, and offered it to her niece. “Do you want to lick this?”
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